Yacambú is a threatened park, meaning that there is a very high risk that the protected area will fail to protect and maintain biological diversity in the near future if remedial action is not taken. This could also mean that the park could fail to provide the water resources for the reservoir. Yacambú's threatened status represents a drop in its conservation status just two years ago, when we classified it as vulnerable. Human encroachment is the most significant threat. It generates additional threats such as poaching, forest fires, and timber extraction. Lack of infrastructure, sign posting, and staff aggravate the situation.
Current Threats
- Lack of personnel and equipment
- Lack of proper infrastructure
- Human encroachment
- Lack of signs
- Poaching
- Forest fires
- Logging and timber extraction
Lack of personnel and equipment
Seven park rangers are responsible for protecting the entire park. They work a rotating schedule from one ranger station. There was an additional station for the rangers that during our first visit in 2001 was being converted into an information center, but has since been abandoned. Because park rangers congregate in one area and do not have adequate means of transportation, their ability to monitor and apprehend those breaking park regulations is severely limited. Even though the park's area was expanded significantly, no new rangers have been hired and no stations built in the new area. In addition, due to a budget crisis throughout INPARQUES, staff salaries go unpaid and staff morale is low.
Lack of proper infrastructure
Even though the park has been recently enlarged, no new park guards have been hired and no new management infrastructure built. Five additional park ranger stations are needed for strategic pints throughout the park in order to begin to achieve effective monitoring. According to one ranger with more than 18 years experience at Yacambú, the new stations should be located in the following sectors: Volcancito, Paso Higuerones in Cubiro, Moreco, Portal de Entrada and Cerro Negro. These sectors have experienced recent human encroachments and/or have been burned due to human influence. They were vulnerable to these threats due in part to complete lack of INPARQUES presence.
In 2001, as was mentioned before, the infrastructure in the Service Zone and Recreation Zone at El Blanquito were rebuilt. The reconstruction project was financed by the "Sobremarcha Ecológica," program of the Ministry of Environment at a cost of 60 million Bolivares (equivalent to $67,797 at the time). The park ranger education center was remodeled to increase its lodging capacity by 30 additional people. Project plans included a conference room as well. The kiosks around El Blanquito Lagoon were remodeled to provide better tourist accommodation. Unfortunately, this large financial investment seems to have gone to waste. During our second visit to Yacambú in August 2003, we saw that many of these remodeled buildings were severely degraded because of lack of up-keep. The Recreation Zone around the lagoon is practically abandoned and the new kiosks already deteriorated. The physical conference room was completed, but is empty; it lacks furniture and equipment. The ranger station, which was not included in the remodeling project, remains in shambles.
The old ranger station located at El Blanquito remains in shambles
(Photo: César Aponte during the first park visit in 2001)
Human encroachment
Human encroachment has increased dramatically in the last three years. Inhabitants claim rights to the land and claim that they have the right to engage in agricultural activities on that land. It seems as though this encroachment is not random nor sporadic, rather promoted and organized by groups with political interest in the region.
In Yacambú, approximately 60 families have settled more than 200 hectares in the sectors called Cerro Cojón, Guayabal and Volcancito. One ranger confirmed that many of these inhabitants are the same people that inhabited the park and were relocated, with compensation, more than ten years ago. In the ranger's opinion, these settlers are looking for additional compensation.
Along the road that provides access to the dam, ParksWatch observed 25 small farms and even several 5-hectare plantations, the majority of which were new, within the park. These agriculturalists cultivate coffee, corn, and vegetable crops. Currently, because of the low international price of coffee, the small farmers are growing vegetables. As a result, they are using harmful agrochemicals and deforesting large areas to do so. Another direct consequence of human encroachment is forest fires, which have definitely increased over the last two years (see the section on forest fires below for more details).
Two consequences of human encroachment include agrochemical contamination and loss of vegetative cover (Photos: César Aponte)
The previous inhabitants of the park still resent INPARQUES, because in their opinion, the resettlement program was not fair. According to one resident of Chamiza (a town outside of the park), the land received is not entirely appropriate for coffee production. Apparently, the new land has many water-related problems-this is true for the towns located next to the park as well. Two years ago, after the first evaluation, ParksWatch warned that these people were not content and could possibly re-settle within the park. Unfortunately, now we report that human encroachment into the park has increased. It, along with forest fires, represents the most serious threat to the park.
Human settlements have also increased around Yacambú's dam, both within and outside of park boundaries. These rural farmers have learned that once the dam is complete, the area will be flooded and the company will relocate and financially compensate landowners.
Human encroachment and plantations within the park are increasing, destroying much of the
forest needed to ensure a sufficient water supply for the reservoir. (Photos: César Aponte)
One of the park settlers interviewed by ParksWatch stated that he had property rights over the occupied land because he was not properly compensated 15 years ago. He accused INPARQUES staff at the time of swindling him. In an attempt to verify the settler's story, we asked INPARQUES staff, which informed us that the particular person's rights over the land expired ten years ago.
The majority of those interviewed seemed to understand the consequences of their settlement, such as damage to the forest and problems for the soon-to-be-completed reservoir. Yet, they still demand a solution to their situation. The main obstacle resolving this situation is that INPARQUES does not have the capacity to meet their demands for land titles in other zones.
These permanent settlements and agricultural activities in Yacambú are both violations of the Environmental Penal Code. In addition, problems like deforestation, forest fires, increased erosion, and contamination from agrochemicals threaten to destroy the forest and its ability to provide water. If Yacambú's forest is destroyed and it is unable to provide water, the María Ochoa Pilé hydrologic project could fail to supply water for agricultural and urban development in the region and the millions of dollars invested by the Venezuelan government would be for nothing.
Lack of signs
During the first evaluation of Yacambú, ParksWatch observed only one posted sign. That sign was donated by the local Mayor's office but later removed by INPARQUES authorities because it did not comply with existing sign standards. During June 2001, new signs were to be posted throughout the park. Yet, this work was never completed and none of the signs are up. In some sectors, the park limits are obvious, like along the mountain range; but in other sectors, the limits are not obvious and the only way to know would be by posted signs.
As with the old sector of the park, the new addition lacks signs. This park addition is surrounded by significantly altered areas and human populations, which could result in problems since the communities are unaccustomed to the new park limits. As long as there is no budget, it is likely signs will not be posted and the limits will remain vulnerable to human influence.
Despite lack of funding, INPARQUES removed these park signs that had been donated by the local Mayor's office because they did
not meet the official specifications. These signs have yet to be replaced two years after they were removed (Photos: César Aponte)
The lush forests of the park addition are surrounded by agricultural zones and towns, who remain unaware of the park's
new boundaries. The limits were drawn intentionally excluding existing cultivated land (Photos: César Aponte)
Poaching
Poaching within Yacambú National Park, along with forest fires and human encroachment, is one of the most serious problems. During our first evaluation, we also found poaching to be significant. However, now because of a larger human population, poaching has gotten worse. Poachers tend to be people from nearby communities and from the settlements within the park. According to researchers that frequent the park, it is common to come across traps and rifle shells used to hunt mammals and birds. In general, hunters are not punished and the park administrators do not pay much attention to the problem. It seems as though poaching is mostly on a subsistence level. According to park rangers, common sought-after prey include paca (Agouti paca), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu). While it is known that hunting is a common occurrence, the actual impact on the hunted species' populations in the park is unknown.
According to one park ranger, the legal procedures most often implemented in the park are related to fires and poaching. In this ranger's opinion, these legal proceedings are simply administrative, too slow, and do not actually punish those involved in the illegal acts. He believes that these procedures should be replaced by judicial ones that include arrests and fines, as are specified in the Environmental Penal Code. In order to implement this, more help is needed from the National Guard, the arm of the Armed Forces responsible for environmental security in Venezuela. In comparison with our first visit, we did see increased interest in collaboration between the National Guard and INPARQUES authorities.
Forest fires
Forest fires are a serious threat to the park. Despite its altitude, humidity, and the low number of people at the time, Yacambú was negatively affected by the fires that swept throughout Venezuela during the 2001 drought (see ParksWatch news about the fires). During this second evaluation, we observed that fire had destroyed a large area of forest was not naturally susceptible to fire. In 2001, approximately 50 hectares were destroyed by fire. During the 2002-2003 fire season, 29 fires were recorded in and around Yacambú that burned 490 hectares of vegetation, of which 137 hectares (27%) were gallery forests (MARN 2003).
Increased fires are directly related to increased human population in the park. Fire originates when the settlers slash and burn to establish plots for planting agricultural crops; sometimes these fires get out of control and turn into greater forest fires. During our 2003 visit, we observed damage from fire along the road that provides access to the dam and all around the 25 agricultural plots were identified during the visit. We also observed burned forest close to settled areas along the mountainous edge along the southern border of the park.
Without forest fire fighters and without look-out towers or fire fighting equipment, there is little INPARQUES can do to quickly extinguish fires in the park. The closest fire fighting camp is in the town of El Tocuyo, 35 km from the park entrance. In 1995, INPARQUES signed an agreement with World Bank for $55 million dollars to improve the National Parks System. Among the list of improvements was a project to create fire fighting camps in several national parks. Unfortunately, Yacambú was not one of the parks targeted to participate in the project and now finds itself without resources to implement such a program on its own.
The zone most frequently burned is the area bordering the town of Chamiza. This picture shows that
the slope in the background was burned (Photo: César Aponte, taken during the first evaluation in 2001)
Logging and timber extraction
Logging and timber extraction are not extensive and are not done for commercial purposes, yet are common activities among nearby communities. Around the area of the "fumarola," harvest of macanilla palms (Socratea exorrhiza) is common as these palms are used for home construction and for handicrafts. In the sectors of Guayabal and La Escalera, recent settlers use logged timber to build their houses. As is the case with fire, this problem is growing in recently settled areas.
